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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Clarke's Court Boat Yard - Grenada Haul Out

I will start right out with saying how impressed we are with the haul out we just did at Clarke's Court Boat Yard on Woburn Bay in Grenada.Yesterday Mowzer settled into her new home for the next couple of months and here's how it all went down.We were booked in for an 8am lift. Prior to lift day, we had removed both mainsail and genoa since all sails (excluding in-mast or in-boom furling) must be removed. The water maker was pickled and we had moved round to Woburn from Mt. Hartman the night before to be a little bit closer in the morning. As I started to hail the boatyard on the VHF radio a dinghy pulled up alongside us in the anchorage. "Don't worry," says Henry, "they're already here!"This was just the beginning of a very attentive and detail-oriented lift.

Pulling into the slip where The Hulk, a 242 ton travel lift is waiting to pluck us up out of the water.

The lift straps are carefully positioned under the boat with not one, but two divers in the water to make sure they are placed correctly.

A super smooth lift and there is Mowzer hanging in the straps. My what a dirty bottom she has!

With two pressure washers in action the guys set to work to removed all the marine growth.

All clean now and very evident that our bottom paint is DONE.

A major disappointment of the day, we have quite a few blisters despite a repair three years ago.

Here's a conundrum: our boat is so small that the cradle hardware can't fit under the boat.

The lads put their heads together and solved the problem.

Mowzer, transferred to the towing cradle and making her way into the storage yard.

It's a snug fit. With some expert driving and manipulation of the hydraulic trailer she was slipped into her preassigned and measured spot.

We can actually see the water from our spot in the yard, and catch a little bit of wind in the cockpit which is a welcome relief.

Now begins the work of getting the old paint removed and new applied - more on that later. We also have some other service items to take care of and then we'll be off to visit family in September knowing that Mowzer is safely taken care of in our absence.Thanks to the wonderful and welcoming staff at Clarke's Court for an uneventful morning.

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Mowzer's Crew

Catherine & Henry: We purchased our first boat, a Tanzer 26 in 2007 and sailed her during the summer on the Ottawa River. We then purchased Mowzer in 2009 and started off by getting into the charter business with CYOA. Over the next few years we spent our allotted time aboard learning as much as we could before we set off by ourselves. We finally 'cut the dock lines' as they say and moved aboard in October 2014.

Catherine: Trained in Math & Comp Sci, worked most recently (15 years) in high tech as an HR systems architect, interested in photography, sewing (learning canvas repair), languages, hiking, snorkelling and wants to learn more about diesel engines.

Henry: Trained as an Engineer and worked many years in high tech as a network planner, took a career turn and worked at Home Depot (as a job he could do anywhere in the world), interested in exploration, hiking, cooking, and sports.